Vengeance
by Serpent1
Summary: After being ambushed during a raid in Robotropolis, Sonic is thought to be dead and a guilt ridden Knuckles becomes obsessed with getting revenge.


Vengeance  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic or any or the characters in this story. Sega owns them.  
-1-  
  
I don't understand why no one will believe me. There was nothing I could do. I couldn't help him, or even make an attempt. I had five goddamn Swatbots after me! I can't be in two places at once; I'm only one guy! Why won't these feelings stop? Why won't they stop blaming me for something that wasn't even my fault? I tried to tell them that I couldn't do anything, my hands were tied so to speak. Tails was closer to him than me, why couldn't he have flown him out of there like he always does? They just won't listen. They won't understand. These thoughts and feelings are driving me insane, tearing my soul to pieces. I can't take this much longer. How many times do I have to say it; it wasn't my fault!  
  
Those very thoughts had been coursing through Knuckles mind for the past three weeks. It was starting to affect his sleep and his appetite now; everything he saw on Angel Island did nothing but remind him of Sonic. Whenever he tried to sleep at night, the horrible images of Sonics terrified face would stare at him before a wall of fire engulfed it and Eggmans insane laughter would ring in his ears, causing him to awaken in a cold sweat. He hadn't been able to sleep at night now for more then at least ten minutes before those terrible nightmares would return. The grief and anger he felt raging inside him made him lose his appetite and sometimes even make him sick. Sitting on a large flat stone on the edge of the island, he stared down at the lights of Robotropolis twinkling below. Other times, he would be watching these lights from here to try and find the right way of getting into the city without any of old fat boy's guards catching them. Of course with Sonic around, they really didn't have to worry about being caught; with Sonics speed, nothing could catch him. Or at least they thought nothing could. Just seeing those lights below caused the feelings inside the echidna's tormented brain to grow stronger, the voices he kept hearing grow louder. Voices of Sonic shouting at him to get out, then the voices of the other Freedom Fighters lashing out at him, blaming him for Sonic being lost. Knuckles shut his eyes tight and bowed his head with his gloved hands on either side, trying to get the memories to stop. As it was the night before, he once again relived that horrible day.  
  
The Freedom Fighters had gathered on the outskirts of Robotropolis and went over their plan of attack on one of Eggmans facilities. The flashback wouldn't allow Knuckles to hear any voices until later on. They made their way inside the facility with ease and found their way into the core of the building where most of the robots were created. Immediately, they moved out, planting bombs at key areas to make sure there was no chance of this place ever being rebuilt. Knuckles felt more and more worried about this raid. It had all gone too easily, their entrance, the way they got to the core; everything. Something didn't seem right at the time, he could sense it. Eggman was planning something he was sure of it. No sooner had they set the last bomb in the darkened room the doctor's insane laughter rang out, freezing everyone in their tracks. Looking up, the five saw the demented one slowly descending into the light from the safety of his Eggmobile. Now the voices began.  
  
"So nice of you to join us," Eggman sneered, "too bad this will be the last time."  
  
At the touch of a button on the panel in front of him, Sonic and the others were completely surrounded by a small army of robots, each with their weapons armed and ready.  
  
"We'd love to stick around and chat fat boy," Sonic said in his usual cocky voice, "but we have to check out."  
  
With that, he and Knuckles threw themselves at the robots, which were caught off guard by this surprise attack. Charging up his Spin Dash, Sonic blasted through about five robots then, using his speed, dodged easily around others. Knuckles took the fight straight to the guards, smashing his way through and even using some of the guards as shields before bashing another to pieces. The others made their way through the small armada following Sonic and Knuckles. In a rage, Eggman flew overhead, dropping bombs down on the group, with one just missing Sally. Tails soon put an end to the attack by catching one of the bombs and throwing it back at Eggman, who ejected himself from the Eggmobile in the nick of time before it was destroyed by the bomb. The sounds of his furious curses could be heard all through the facility.  
  
"Hey Tails, move it," Sonic hollered, "we only got about ten seconds to get out of here before this place hits rock bottom!"  
  
The two tailed fox flew as fast as he could and quickly caught up with the others. As they hurried down the corridor toward the exit, a security bot suddenly flew out of seemingly nowhere and tackled Sonic to the ground. Knuckles immediately slid to a stop and ran back to help his friend.  
  
"No," Sonic cried, "don't worry about me Knux! Get out of here!"  
  
"Just hang on," Knuckles cried back.  
  
"Get the hell out," Sonic shouted, as the robot tried dragging him away, "Go! Now!"  
  
A loud rumble in the distance shook the building and pieces of the ceiling began to crack and fall.  
  
"Don't be stupid Sonic," Knuckles said as he grabbed at the robots mechanical hand, "I'll have this damn thing off in a second. We can still make it!" The robot however, wrenched his hand free and swatted the echidna away. Knuckles got up and again made for the robot but this time, a small explosion sent a large steel girder crashing into Knuckles body and he went crashing through the cracked wall. He pushed it off and was about to go back inside for Sonic when Tails swooped down and carried him out of harms way before the explosions inside the building caused it to implode on itself.  
  
Now the flashback turned to Knothole where Knuckles told Sally and the others that Sonic was inside the building when it imploded.  
  
"Sonic was in there?" Tails demanded, "why didn't you tell me that?  
  
"I tried to," Knuckles said, "but I."  
  
"You let Sonic die while you saved your own hide," Antoine snapped, "and that just shows us what a coward you really are!"  
  
"How the hell am I supposed to get clear of that place with you guys and save Sonic at the same time?" the angry echidna demanded.  
  
"You would've found a way you dumb ass!" Rotor retorted.  
  
Knuckles could feel all his anger growing by the minute and he knew at any moment, he would explode. Summoning up all his resistance, he turned to Sally, hoping that she would at least put an end to all this or calm everyone down. His hopes were shattered before his eyes.  
  
"I can't believe you would let us down like that," she said calmly, "we trusted you, we believed in you and this is what we get for it?"  
  
"It wasn't my fault," Knuckles protested, "I was knocked through the wall by a steel girder for Christ's sakes!"  
  
"I don't care," Sally snapped, her own anger now rearing its ugly head, "you could've saved him Knuckles, and you damn well know it. So, you can turn around and go back to that island you came from and don't you even think about showing your face around here again. Ever!"  
  
Knuckles stood there for a moment completely stunned by Sally's words. His grief filling eyes just looked at her with a look of complete disbelief and betrayal on his face. He tried to say something but was cut off by Antoine.  
  
"Didn't you hear her?" he snapped, getting right in the echidna's face, "get out!"  
  
The echidna slowly raised his head, letting his hands slide down and fall to his knees. The feeling of grief and anger was now stronger then ever. He took one last glance down at Robotropolis, then rose from the rock and slowly walked away into the forest. The voices of those memories had stopped for the moment but he knew they'd be back. The image of those angry faces still remained in his mind. Sometimes he thought, maybe it would be better if he was one who was dead. Better for everyone.  
-2-  
The following day at Knothole, the Freedom Fighters were working busily, preparing for another raid against Eggman. If their last one had hurt him as much as it had, then this maybe would put them on the road to absolute victory and this war would be over. Tails and Rotor worked on the final adjustments to the Tornado II while Bunnie and Antoine helped Sally to devise their strategy.  
  
"What about going in through here?" Bunnie asked, pointing at a large sewer pipe below the core of the plant.  
  
"Too risky," Antoine replied, "there'll be hundreds of robots waiting for us."  
  
"He's right," Sally said as she looked over the blueprints with a bit of frustration, "our best bet would be for Tails to provide a distraction outside and we slip in under their noses."  
  
"What about if we ask Knuckles to." Bunnie started to say but stopped by the mean glare Sally gave her, "never mind."  
  
"I don't want to hear his name again," Sally said, calming herself, "we can do this without his help."  
  
Outside, Tails and Rotor were also thinking about the raid.  
  
"I just hope this works," Rotor said as he connected some wires in the plane's engine, "Sally just hasn't been herself lately after what happened."  
  
"Can you blame her?" Tails asked, looking over the side of the cockpit, "I wouldn't be surprised if Knuckles never comes back. Not that we need him anyway."  
  
Rotor slid out from underneath the plane and told Tails to start it. Flipping the switch, the plane's engine roared to life, sounding even better then before. Though proud of themselves, both Tails and Rotor exchanged nervous glances. This raid was going to be dangerous if not deadly. They were planning to bomb Eggmans military plant near the center of Robotropolis. That area was known to be crawling with robots around nearly every turn and if you weren't careful, you would be captured before you even knew what hit you. The seriousness of the raid brought thoughts of Sonic to Tails' mind. Even if there were a thousand robots everywhere, none of them could even come close to catching him. He could run complete circles around them and they wouldn't even know he was there. Most of the time anyway.  
  
Meanwhile, Sally had gone to her room for a rest. Looking at those blueprints for the past hour and a half had made her eyes begin to ache so she laid down for a nap. The raid wouldn't happen until later on that night so she had plenty of time. As she slept, her mind drifted off into her memories of Sonic. She gently smiled to herself as her dreams showed her all the times Sonic had outwitted Eggman and made him look like the idiot that he is. He had tried so many times to capture or kill Sonic and each time, his plan had been thrown back in his face. As the dreams continued, a tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered how much she missed him.  
  
Meanwhile, Eggman himself was in his office in the heart of Robotropolis, thinking patiently about how he was going to crush the Freedom Fighters once and for all. He remembered how the day before, that stupid fox Tails had been seen flying his plane over the city and circled once around his military plant. The Swatbot had wanted to shoot the plane out of the sky but Eggman had ordered him not too. He wanted to see what Tails would do, where he was going. When he saw him circle the military plant, a thought popped into his head.  
  
"Those idiot Freedom Fighters just don't know when to quit," he mused to himself with a slight chuckle, "they didn't get the message when I finally rid myself of that bastard Sonic. So, if they are planning to attack that plant, this time I shall be ready."  
  
He clicked a button and a display screen lowered down and flicked on. Now he was seeing what a small Batbot was seeing as it silently flew across the Great Forest. It quickly hid in a tree as it showed Rotor and Bunnie heading through the forest.  
  
"I sure hope Sally knows what she's doing," Rotor said, "I don't particularly like it."  
  
"Me neither," Bunnie said, "but that military plant has been causing us a lot of trouble lately. We have to take it out."  
  
"Yeah I know," Rotor said, "I just have a bad feeling about it."  
  
With a smile, Eggman shut off the monitor and sent for the commander of his Swatbot attack force.  
  
"Get the others ready for an attack," he ordered, "those Freedom Fighters should be arriving tonight. Leave only a skeleton crew inside the plant."  
  
"But master," the robot monotone voice said, "that would leave us defenseless."  
  
"I know that you fool," Eggman said, "that's why the main group of your forces will take up a position outside the plant and wait for them to come to us."  
  
"Yes master," the robot said and left the room. Eggman leaned back in his chair and laughed to himself.  
  
"Oh I am such a genius," he said as he leaned back further and rested his feet on his desk, "now that I'm rid of that hedgehog, the rest of them won't be any problem. This will be my crowning achievement. The end of this war and the beginning of a new era!"  
  
High above the planet's surface, Knuckles again was staring down at the city below. There wasn't much activity down there today; not that he really cared about that anymore. The grief in his heart had now hardened into anger; anger at Sally and the others for not believing him and anger at that fat son of a bitch Eggman for what happened to Sonic. He was probably in his office right now, laughing it up and telling himself how much a damn genius he was. If I had the chance, Knuckles thought, I'd show him what a genius he is; a genius at getting his goddamn head knocked off! He clenched his fists as his rage began to build up even more, the thought of how Eggman had gotten away with that made the echidnas blood boil. He then remembered how the day before, he had glided down near the city, but high enough that no one could see him. He remembered seeing Tails in the Tornado II flying over a military plant near the heart of Robotropolis. If Sally was going to attack that place, she was out of her mind. Even though he knew that she hated him for what happened to Sonic, this was something he had to be involved in; in case something went wrong.  
-3-  
  
As the day slowly began to fade into night, Knuckles silently glided down from his island over the growing darkness in the city below. Physically, this was easy for him, but mentally, it was utter torture. The haunting memories of three weeks ago came flooding back, this time stronger then ever before. The angry faces and harmful words almost distracted him from what he was doing so he knew he had to be careful. No sense in rushing into something he couldn't get himself out of. But then again, what was the big problem with that? According to Sally and the others, he was nothing but a total failure, a loser, a useless piece of crap. No, he couldn't let himself think that way. He had to prove to them that he wasn't a failure and this was the only way he could. He glided silently over the city and finally landed on a rooftop just beside the very factory the Freedom Fighters were going to bomb that night. Just the sight of the place sent cold shivers down his spine. He crept into an air vent near the edge of the building and waited.  
  
Not far away, Sally and the others were heading for the plant. As Rotor carefully flew the plane over the city, with Tails and Sally clinging to the side of the cockpit, the radar suddenly began to beep, showing about a hundred individual blips on the ground below.  
  
"Oh man," he said as he looked at the tiny screen, "it looks like Eggman has half his Swatbots out there waiting for us."  
  
"Stay out of their sight," Sally told him, "he thinks we're coming in from the ground."  
  
"But what about when we get in there?" Tails asked, "once those robots find out we're in there, they'll be after us."  
  
"Not a problem," Rotor said with a smile, "I added a little something extra while you on a break."  
  
The plane soon flew over the top of the plant and the three could see the Swatbots below waiting for them. Rotor merely smiled.  
  
"Check this out," he said and flipped a switch on the control panel.  
  
The plane started sending out a signal that interrupted the Swatbot's programming and in a sense, fried their circuits and rendered them useless. Tails had to laugh a little when he looked down and saw the robots twitching and sparking before a small pop was heard and they crumpled to the ground. Rotor carefully landed the plane on the roof of the plant allowing Tails and Sally to jump off the wings, and easily make their way inside. From his hiding place in the air vent, Knuckles watched them disappear into the factory. He wanted to go and help them but something kept telling him to stay where he was. If he interfered now, it might be fatal.  
  
The two Freedom Fighters carefully made their way through the ductwork of the plant; the Swatbots below had no clue they were even there. One even began to speculate that maybe their boss Eggman was starting to lose it. Soon, they reached their target, the core. As Sally peered through the bars of the duct cover, she noticed that there were three guards surrounding the core. If she and Tails dropped to the floor, their cover would be blown. She whispered to Tails that he would have to fly the bomb over to the core and set it. Tails nervously peered out. He didn't think he could make it, the bomb was quite heavy, it wasn't like carrying someone when they usually swung back and forth to help him out. Still, he knew he had to do it so, he quietly removed the cover, took the bomb from Sally and as quietly as he could, spun his twin tails and flew toward the core. Through the whole trip, he nervously held the bomb but he couldn't help shaking slightly with fear. If he dropped this thing, it was over for both of them. Finally he reached the core and gently set the bomb down. As soon as it touched, the bomb clicked on. However, the Swatbots below heard the click and instantly began firing up at the small fox that immediately flew back to the safety of the duct.  
  
"Let's go," Sally said as they hurried down the maze of ducts, "we can easily make it before those Swatbots find us." A blast of energy just above her head changed her mind.  
  
Behind them, Tails saw a large Caterkiller making its way down the duct after them. Normally, they could easily outrun it but on their hands and knees, it had a definite advantage.  
  
"Surrender intruders," it called after them, "or be destroyed!"  
  
"I hope we can get out of here before that thing gets us," Tails said as he tried his best to hurry. Just then he had an idea. He whispered to Sally that maybe, he could blow the Caterkiller back with his tails spinning at full speed. He gripped the sides of the duct and began spinning his tails faster and faster. His face grimaced as he applied all the force he could muster and sure enough, the Caterkiller lost its grip and was sent tumbling back through the duct.  
  
"Great going Tails," Sally said, "now lets get out of here."  
  
They soon made it to the roof where Rotor started up the plane. But as they raced towards it, a Swatbot emerged from the elevator nearby and threw a small grenade through the air and it exploded just behind Tails, sending the little fox face first onto the roof. He shook off the cobwebs and rolled over to his back just to see the barrel of the Swatbot's rifle aiming directly at his head. At that point, Knuckles acted. He charged out of the air vent and leaped off the edge of the building. Spreading his dreadlocks, he glided through the air, arms outstretched and fists tightly clenched, heading straight for the robot. Just as it turned its head, the echidna's fist smashed into it, sending the head bouncing across the roof and the body toppled over.  
  
"Go!" Sally shouted as she climbed onto the wing. Rotor revved the engine and the plane took off. Without wasting time, Knuckles picked Tails up under his right arm and dove off the edge of the building, using the warm air from the Tornado's exhaust to glide smoothly behind it. Just then, Eggman rose up in his Eggmobile to see the five disappear into the night.  
  
"Idiots," he cursed, "I swear that they will not get the better of me again. The next time I see them, they'll be joining that bastard Sonic!"  
  
Back at Knothole, Rotor and Sally waited for Knuckles to land, carrying Tails under his arm.  
  
"Are you alright?" Sally asked as the echidna landed.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine Aunt Sally," Tails said as he brushed some of the dust off his fur, "good thing Knux was around."  
  
"I could've saved you myself," Sally said as she gave Knuckles a hard look.  
  
"With that Swatbot behind him?" Knuckles asked, returning her hard look with one of his own, "I don't think so."  
  
"You still don't get it do you," Sally snapped back, "I don't need your help and neither does anyone else. We got along fine before Sonic and Tails found your island. And sometimes, I wish they hadn't."  
  
She turned and walked away. Rotor looked at Knuckles, shrugged and followed her. That was the last straw. He had just saved Tails life and this is what he gets for it? This was nothing but BS and she damn well knew it.  
  
"Thanks for saving my ass back there," Tails said, "Aunt Sally is still a bit upset about what happened to Sonic so, I think it would be best if you just stayed away for a while."  
  
"She still thinks I'm a failure," Knuckles said, his eyes brimming with anger, "well I want you to do me a favor kid. Tell Sally that I'm going to go and make everything better for her and everyone else."  
  
"How?" Tails asked.  
  
"How?" Knuckles said, "its simple. I'm going to do what she never could. I'm going to find Eggman and when I do, I'll tear that fat son of bitch's heart out!"  
  
"You mean you're going to attack Eggman's fortress?" Tails asked in shock, "you're crazy! That's suicide!"  
  
"Maybe it is," Knuckles growled, giving Tails an icy look, "but right now, I don't really give a damn anymore. I'm going to take that asshole apart or die trying!"  
-4-  
  
Meanwhile, Sally walked through Knothole trying to calm herself down. That moron Knuckles had no business interfering with our raid, she thought to herself, he could've gotten Tails killed. Why doesn't he get it? We don't need him now or ever again. Her train of thought was interrupted by Bunnie; who came running up to her with a look that was half worried, and half excited.  
  
"Sally," she cried as she ran up to her, "you've got to come to the medical hut quick!"  
  
"What is it?" Sally demanded as Bunnie tugged on her hand as she ran along.  
  
"You're never going to believe this," Bunnie said, "but its Sonic! He's alive!"  
  
Sure enough when they got back to the medical hut, Sally couldn't believe her eyes. Even though he was dirty, bruised and battered, Sonic lay on the bed comfortably resting.  
  
"Sonic?" Sally asked, her voice barely able to say his name. The blue hedgehog opened his eyes, looked at her and smiled.  
  
"Hey Sal," he said trying to put on his cocky voice, "long time no see."  
  
Sally ran over to the bed and hugged him. She felt all the bitterness melt away when he slowly put his arms around her. He softly grunted with pain but at least he was here. The tears soon started welling up in her eyes.  
  
"I thought I'd lost you," she said as let go and looked into his face.  
  
"For a second I thought I'd lost you too," Sonic said as he wiped the tears from her eyes, "but you know nothing can catch me." He gave her his usual arrogant smirk. Just then, Tails burst through the door but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the hedgehog looking at him.  
  
"Yo little bro," Sonic said, as he couldn't help smiling when he looked at Tails shocked face, "you look like you just saw a ghost."  
  
For a moment Tails couldn't speak. Then finally, his voice regained its confidence.  
  
"What happened?" he asked.  
  
"After Knux got blasted through the wall, I had to save myself," Sonic began as he slowly laid back down, "Lucky for me, the roof collapsed and a chunk of it fell on that Badnik that was holding me. So I got up and zoomed out the hole in the wall. And I've spent the last three weeks pretty much laying low. Today was the first time I was able to get an opening to get out of there." He paused for a minute then asked, "Oh yeah, whatever happened to Knux anyway? Is he okay?"  
  
"Oh no," Tails said, suddenly remembering, "I almost forgot!"  
  
"Forgot what?" Sally asked.  
  
"Its Knuckles," Tails said, "I don't know what the hell is wrong with him but, he said he was going to attack Eggman's fortress!"  
  
"What?" Sonic demanded, sitting upright in bed, "why the hell would he do something like that?"  
  
"He said something about making everything better for everyone," Tails answered, "its like he's gone crazy!"  
  
Sonic and Sally looked at each other worriedly. They both knew there was no way any of them could get into Eggmans fortress. And with the state Knuckles was apparently in, it looked as if he meant that he would make everything better by killing himself! And as they heard that news, Knuckles was already gliding over Robotropolis heading straight for Eggmans impenetrable fortress. There's no turning back now, the echidna thought, Sally thinks I'm a failure, the others don't appreciate me anymore. What the hell have I got to lose?  
  
Meanwhile, the other Sonic, Tails, Sally and Rotor were racing toward the city with Sonic blazing along the ground at top speed. In the Tornado II, Sally kept thinking this was her fault. She never should've lost her temper with Knuckles, she hadn't meant to push him this far. Attacking that fortress was nothing but death march; there was no way that Knuckles could ever survive. Even with all the courage and heart he possessed, it would be impossible.  
-5-  
  
A half an hour later, Knuckles soon saw the massive fortress looming below him. The thought of that fat asshole inside, laughing and gloating about what happened made him boil over with hatred. He knew that he couldn't get by the Swatbots on the ground and the Batbots near all the vents and windows, so he decided that maybe he could get in by lying to them. He flew to the ground near the Swatbots and as they came towards him, he raised his gloved hands.  
  
"I surrender," he called to them, "but I want to see Eggman."  
  
"Why?" the lead robot asked as the two grabbed him.  
  
"I have information about the Freedom Fighters plans," Knuckles said, "I think your boss would be very interested in hearing it."  
  
The Swatbots looked at each other for a moment then took the echidna inside. Seconds later, Sonic skidded to a stop nearby the fortress just in time to see Knuckles being taken inside.  
  
"Oh great," he muttered.  
  
"Sonic, where is he?" Sally asked as she and the others arrived.  
  
"He was just taken inside by two Swatbots," Sonic said grimly, "I don't know how much time we have. But we have to hurry before they replace those two."  
  
The group of five quickly raced inside the fortress and hid as two new heavily armed Swatbots marched past them to take their positions outside.  
  
"Damn, look at this place," Rotor said as the Freedom Fighters emerged from their hiding places, "its like a maze."  
  
"Its huge," Tails added, "something I used to have nightmares about."  
  
They carefully made their way down the corridor, searching for someway to locate Knuckles. The place was so immense inside that at one point, Sonic thought they would never be able to find the echidna, at least not until he was robotisized and he found them. They rounded a corner but quickly jumped back as two large Buzzbombers flew along the passage toward them. Sonic quickly motioned for the others to stand back. As the first Buzzbomb flew around the corner, Sonic leaped into the air and smashed through it, causing a piece of it to pierce the armor of the second, taking it out as well. Suddenly, down the hall, they heard the voice of a Swatbot speaking to Eggman.  
  
"I have the echidna here," it said, "he claims to have information for you."  
  
Sonic and the others peered around the corner. Knuckles stood there between two Swatbots as they stepped into another elevator.  
  
"Oh my God," Sally said, "you don't think he's switched sides do you?"  
  
"I don't know," Sonic said, "but I'm not waiting to find out."  
  
Meanwhile, in his large office, Eggman sat at his desk staring at the echidna with disdain. If he had information, it better be good.  
  
"Alright Knuckles," Eggman sneered, "you say you have information about the Freedom Fighters for me. Just tell me this, why the hell should I trust you?"  
  
"Think about it," Knuckles answered, "I know the way they think better then anyone."  
  
"Very true," the insane doctor said, stroking his moustache, "so spill it. What are their plans?"  
  
Knuckles looked down at the floor and then back up to Eggman and smiled. With one swift move, he wrenched his hands free from the Swatbots and smashed them both to pieces. Eggman quickly tried to push his security button but Knuckles was already there, punching him squarely in the jaw and knocking him to the floor.  
  
"You stupid jackass," Knuckles snarled, "do you actually think that I would do that?"  
  
He continued his assault, bashing the overweight doctor into a wall with a single blow. Eggman ducked quickly as Knuckles swung again and his hand smashed a hole in the wall. However, before he could mount a counter attack, the raging echidna belted him again in the gut then threw him to the floor.  
  
"I'm going to enjoy tearing your damn heart out fat boy," Knuckles growled, "this is for Sonic!"  
  
However, as he charged the doctor pressed a hidden button on his belt and when Knuckles came into contact with him, a surge of electricity coursed through his body, sending him flying back into the far wall. Knuckles sagged to the floor, twitching with pain.  
  
"Brave, but foolish," Eggman said as he rose from the floor and picked up his personal pistol, "I have to say I admire your courage Knuckles. But all this was all in vain."  
  
He walked over to the motionless echidna and aimed the pistol at his head. But before he could fire, the elevator doors swung open and Sonic emerged from the opening along with the rest of the Freedom Fighters behind him.  
  
"No," Eggman said, "it can't be!"  
  
"I'm back fatty," Sonic said with a smirk, "and its time to take out the trash."  
  
He charged up a Spin Dash again and charged at Eggman but missed. Instead, he crashed through his desk, destroying his communication relay, making sure there was no way he could call for help. Or so he thought. Eggman again pressed another button on his belt and the alarms began to scream. It was time to go. In a few minutes, this place would be crawling with Swatbots. Suddenly, the window shattered behind them by none other then Rotor in the Tornado II. Sally quickly tossed a smoke bomb in front of Eggmans feet, causing him to be temporarily blinded. In the confusion, Sonic helped Knuckles to his feet and they moved as quickly as they could to the window and climbed onto the wing of the plane. Eggman cleared the smoke from his eyes just in time to see the Freedom Fighters flying away. The doctor curses could once again be heard throughout his fortress.  
  
Back at Knothole, Sally took Knuckles aside.  
  
"I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry," she said, "I guess I was so upset with the idea that Sonic was gone that."  
  
"I know," Knuckles said, "I understand. But, this was my fault too. I should've watched out for Sonic or none of this would've happened."  
  
"It wasn't just you," Sally said gently, placing her hand on his shoulder, "we all should've been watching."  
  
"Hey guys," Sonic hollered to them, "you guys going to stand there all day or are you going to have a little fun?"  
  
With a smile, Sally and Knuckles joined in the fun. It was finally over. All the memories of that day were washed out of the echidna's heart and mind, hopefully never to return. The smile never left Knuckles face all day. It never felt so good to have a clear conscience. 


End file.
